The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1887-09-02
DISTRICT SCHOOLS.
THE PERlLs AND DIFFICULTIES OF
TEACHING FORTY YEARS AGO.

A Chicngo Journalist Gives a Bit of His
Pedagogical Experience IN Tanning tho
Juvenile oIenagcric ut the Gross Roads
School House.
Not one of the teachers of the district
schools ever fancied that discipline could
be enforced without corporal punishment;
in fact, the people esteemed him in proper
ton to his severity. Generally the instru-
ment of torture was flat ruler of
hardwood, and was applied to the cren
palm of the hand. Some of the lri IS
who handled this weapon seemed TO de-
light in it's use and employed it on the
slightest excuse, and not insrcGnently
without any cause have been fer. ulcd
:cores of times without the consciousness
Of having committed any otfense what
ever.
The women who taught in the summer
did not use the ferrule, but generally u
switch, the offender often being sent out
to cut the instrument with Which ho was
to be punished. One feminine teacher was
mn ingenious torturer, who constantly in-
vented novel methods of punishment. One
was to put closed penknife between the
fingers of the victim, press the fingers tight
to the handle, and then twist tie latter
till the pupil howled over the intolerublc
pain.
While fitting for college taught district
schools for several winters. and so abhor-
rent were the various punishments which
| had suffered when boy that ] deter
ni'.ed never to strike Il pupil unless in alb
solutc self defense. And i never did. I
taught in some pretty tough localities,
where punishments had been the rule from
time immemorial.
THE CROSS ROADS SCHOOL.
There is, or was, cross road settle
ment on the Sacondaga river in which was
district school that was famous all
through the region for the burbur-
ism and intractable character of its
scholars. applied for it one winter. and
was laughed at by the trustee to whom
made the application.
"Why, they throwed out the teacher
last winter; and that amt all either; they
mutilated him so that he'll be cripple
for life.'
After much parleying 1 succeeded in
getting the engagement, it being UNDER
stood on the part of the trustees that if I
lasted week it would be miracle.
The pupils who: presented themselves on
of them were from the hills, and were but
little more advanced than savages in book
learning There were some half dozen
boys us old as, or older than, myself, and
two or three hulking chaps who We're con-
sitlcrably larger than myself in physical
dimensions. They looked me over with
about the same glance that bull dog
might n slender terrier, but for several
days were on their good behavior, being
| OF the opinion that when the time came
| they would thrown me out without
trouble. 1t was the case of u half dozen
cats playing with feeble mouse.
SIZING UP THE CROWD.
! that the leader was sullen brute of some
20 years of age, who could just barely
/ spell words of two or three letters and
could not even write his name He good
natnrcdly allowed me to order him up to
repeat his letters with an air as if saying:
.lill right for Il week or so, but wei show
you by and BY" A fortnight after the
school opened he was more sullen than
usual one day, and when requested him
/ to come out and recite his letters 'gucssed
| he didn't want to say no lesson"
Very well. When recess comes you'll
keep your seat and not go out with the
| boys"
| Ills ugly face took on deeper scowl
than usual, and he glanced around at the
other big boys, with glance which said,
''Now's the time! Well tackle himn' 1t
WIS half hour before recess Meanwhile
he pulled out an immense pocket knife,
opened it, and then, when he saw me look
ing toward him, he jabbed the blade os.
tcntatiously into the desk. The smaller
scholars saw that storm was brewing
and were uneasy; the larger ones moved
about, and evidently thought the crisis
was at hand.
When the hour for the recess came ]
picked up the heavy iron poker and carry
ing it as if it were a cane, opened the
door and said: "The boys may have a re,
cess" AS I did so fixed my eyes on the
ruflian with the jackknife, with genial
smile on my lips. The other large boys
hesitated for an instant, us if expecting
him to make start. He quailed as he
saw my attitude and the poker, and kept
his seat. The other boys saw the game
was up, and went out; they had no leader,
and the combination was broken. Ineve1
had the slightest further trouble. Even
the brute with the jackknife became, after
his fashion, my friend, and actually gave
some attention to his books, and by spring
could both read and write to fair extent
The people of the district patiently
waited to see me come through the win
dows in sections; but the event never hap.
pened. tanned the menagerie and never
struck one of the beasts blow.-s'Poli.
nto" in Chicago Times.
|